John F Kennedy Four Freedom Speech Analysis

Freedom… but at what Cost?
Freedom is a word that has a variety of different meanings, but there is only one definition that truly matches these two speeches. Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. During World War II and the Cold War, the times in which the freedoms of the world were most in jeopardy, the United States had two powerful speakers in charge. Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Both Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech and Kennedy’s inaugural address want to preserve freedom for the world, however, Roosevelt’s speech invokes people to join the war whereas Kennedy’s speech wants to prevent the war by negotiating with the enemy.

In 1941, the era of which Roosevelt gave his “Four Freedoms” speech, the main threat around the world was World War II. In the wake of the rise of Nazi Germany, President Roosevelt had to do something to motivate his people. In his “Four Freedoms” speech, Roosevelt said “...at no previous time has American security been as seriously threatened from without as it is today” (2). The United States’ allies in Europe were at war with Germany, and Roosevelt wanted to break the American mindset of isolation. Roosevelt boldly stated that the U.S. was to increase arms and military vehicle production

and the USSR, and nuclear war looked imminent. The fear around the world was that the Cold War was going to lead to nuclear war that would destroy the world. Kennedy was elected President in 1961 and was dropped right into the middle of the Cold War. In his inaugural address, Kennedy stated “...we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity…”(12). Kennedy wanted peace around the world and did not want to let the nukes fly. However, there is a reason and a purpose to why he gave this